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16W:051: Medicine and Health in World Historical Perspective
Fall 2009
TH2:30-5:00pm/SH176
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Instructor |
Phone |
5-2287 |
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Office |
SH160 |
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Office Hours |
TH3:00-5:00pm and by appt. |
URL |
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SH280 (phone 335-2299) |
SH 303 (phone 335-2584) |
Texts:
Available at
Anderson, Robin L., ed. Sources in the History of Medicine: The Impact of Disease and Trauma, 2007.
Additional articles noted in the course schedule. All are available through JSTOR, Cambridge Journals, etc., accessible remotely via www.lib.uiowa.edu or via a link under the course website’s “class schedule” page, which will allow access through the library’s proxy server gate. Other assigned materials are available through open access websites linked directly to the class schedule page for the course website. Please note that I refer here to the course website on the main server (see URL above), not to the ICON site.
Description:
This course seeks to situate the history of medicine and health in a global historical context. Rather than see the history of medicine as a series of scientific milestones, or the stories of “Great Men,” this class highlights the social and political dimensions of medical science as it was deployed in furtherance of both national and international political agendas. The course is divided into four units that are organized to orient us to the theoretical and methodological problems, move us chronologically through some of the major threads of historical inquiry, and get our feet wet in the actual craft of historical research and writing. Lecturing in this course will be kept to a minimum, as the intimate seminar format provides the optimal atmosphere for in-depth discussion. Students bear responsibility for active participation in weekly discussions centered on assigned readings; a series of small assignments designed to develop research and writing skills; and a major (15pp) research paper that relies heavily on primary documentation. This class is designed to cultivate the research and writing skills that history majors will find useful in other classes. Thus, while the history of medicine and health in a global context provides the specific content of the class, the emphasis is squarely on the practice of historical research and writing, skills that will translate readily to the study of other themes.
Goals:
Ø To deepen our knowledge of and complicate our conceptualization of world history, the history of medicine, disease and public health, and the intersection of the two.
Ø To cultivate critical reading skills with respect to different kinds of primary documents, as well as secondary literature.
Ø To hone research and writing skills through brief writing exercises, a major research paper, and workshopping.
Requirements:
Ø All assigned readings and written work must be completed on time. You should be prepared to do this reading on schedule, as it will be almost impossible to catch up if you fall behind.
Ø Written assignments must be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins all around and 12-point font. If you turn in more than one page, please staple the pages together.
Ø If you know in advance that you can not complete an assignment in time due to legitimate, exceptional circumstances, such as other major assignments being due on the same day, flexibility may be possible by prior arrangement. Unexcused late submissions will be penalized 3 points for each business day delay.
Ø You should attend all class sessions, arrive on time, and come prepared to participate actively.
Ø It is expected that you will show courteous treatment of fellow classmates and a respectful attitude toward the expression of divergent opinions.
Ø Please set your cell phone to “vibrate” or turn it off during class.
Accommodations for Disabilities
A student seeking academic accommodations
first must register with Student Disability Services and then meet with a SDS
counselor who determines eligibility for services. A student approved for
accommodations should meet privately with the course instructor to arrange
particular accommodations. www.uiowa.edu/~sds/
I
would like to hear from anyone who has a disability which may require seating
modifications or testing accommodations or accommodations of other class
requirements, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. Please contact me
during my office hours.
Administrative Home of the Course
The
administrative home of this course is the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,
which governs academic matters relating to the course such as the add / drop
deadlines, the second-grade-only option, issues concerning academic fraud or
academic probation, and how credits are applied for various CLAS requirements.
Please keep in mind that different colleges might have different policies. If
you have questions about these or other CLAS policies, visit your academic
advisor or 120 Schaeffer Hall and speak with the staff. The CLAS Academic
Handbook is another useful source of information on CLAS academic policy: www.clas.uiowa.edu/students/academic_handbook/index.shtml
image sources,
l-r: http://www.english.upenn.edu/Projects/knarf/Gifs/leonardo.html; http://www.drly.net/acupuncture.htm